Tax-free weekend starts Friday in Georgia

HARTWELL - Shoppers will get a break this weekend when back to school supplies are tax-free.

After a two-year absence, the Georgia tax-free weekend returns Friday and Saturday. This year, the tax weekend will only cover two days, instead of the previous three days.

For those two days, shoppers will not pay tax, 7 percent, on many school purchases. Unlike South Carolina, the tax-free purchases have stricter limits.

According to the Georgia Department of Revenue, during the tax-free weekend, clothing items under $100 each will be exempt from taxes, including shoes, diapers, athletic clothing, hats, underwear and leotards. Not-exempt clothing purchases include accessories like jewelry, handbags, umbrellas, eye wear, watches and watchbands. Also exempt from taxes that weekend are computers under $1,000 and school supplies under $20 each.

According to the National Retail Federation, shoppers are expected to spend about $414.12 on school supplies and back to school clothes this year. That equates to a savings of nearly $29.

The weekend is a busy one for retailers, said Earl Johnson, owner of Bailes Cobb Company, a clothing store in Hartwell.

"In the past, we have always been busy that weekend," Johnson said. "People come in to get their back to school clothes and save money."

But this year, with Hart County schools going back on July 30, Johnson said he expects the weekend may not be as profitable as in past years.

"This year it probably won't be as busy, but I'm sure we'll still get customers in from surrounding areas," he said. "It probably would have been better if the weekend had happened earlier, but we'll surely get some benefit out of it."

Students in nearby Elbert County go back to school August 15, while schools in Franklin and Stephens County go back August 17.

Schools in Pickens, Oconee and Anderson County in South Carolina go back on August 21, but Johnson said he doesn't anticipate many South Carolina shoppers to make their way to Georgia for the savings. South Carolina held its tax-free weekend last weekend from August 3 through 5. South Carolina estimated that the state would lose about $3 million in revenue over the weekend.

Eighteen states in the U.S. have similar tax holidays. North Carolina and Tennessee also had tax-free days during the August 3 weekend.